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Sending Ryan Spooner to Providence right move for Bruins

After Ryan Spooner’s three-point, six shot-on-goal performance Dec. 23 in Nashville, it appeared inevitable that Spooner would become the next young player with whom Bruins fans would become enamored.

It seemed that when the day came for Spooner to be moved either out of the lineup or back to Providence, it could be met by some uneasiness among the following Spooner had built.

Whether or not there was such a reaction when the Bruins demoted the then-21-year-old on Tuesday, there shouldn’t have been. Sending Spooner back to Providence with Chris Kelly back in the lineup makes all the sense in the world, as a Cup-contending team is better with Kelly as its third line center and a still-developing prospect doesn’t get much (money aside) out of sitting at the NHL level.

Spooner had done an admirable job centering the third line after Kelly went down with a broken fibula on Dec. 7. He got off to an underwhelming start, struggling on faceoffs and posting minus-2 ratings in two of his first six games of the callup (he had previously played two games in a late-November callup), but once he found a groove, the points came. He had six points over six games from Dec. 21 to Jan. 2 and impressed with his passing, skating, and ability to slip through defenders in the neutral zone.

That was all promising, but when Spooner’s play dropped off (not to mention the fact that he wasn’t scoring goals; all his points at the NHL level have been assists), it looked more like a young player hitting something of a wall. He’d been playing through some flu-like symptoms late, but he also admitted to the NHL schedule wearing him down a bit.

“Just being a first-year guy, it's hard to be consistent game in and game out,” Spooner said earlier this month in Dallas. “I'm getting used to the schedule and kind of getting run-down, and all that kind of stuff. … I actually haven't been feeling good the last week or so, but I guess for me, it's just trying to fight through that kind of stuff and try to find the consistency in my game.”

That isn’t a player going through a slump, but a young player who isn’t ready to be a big-time contributor at the NHL level yet.

Such a suggestion is no knock on Spooner, but rather a reminder that the B’s don’t have to force the player into their lineup. Many teams might find themselves playing a second-year pro like Spooner sooner than he’s ready for, but the Bruins’ depth allows them to not rush their top offensive prospect. If they have a capable veteran in Kelly who has centered a productive third line in a long Cup run before (2011; last year, not so much), why gamble with someone who isn’t as well-suited for the role?

Though Spooner has more offensive upside than a guy like Kelly, it isn’t like the B’s need him to generate offense. The Bruins have scored 18 goals over the last three games without him.

The fact of the matter is that as promising as Spooner’s future may be – he figures to be a skilled center at the NHL level who has already shown he can move the puck well on the power play – some more time in Providence could do him well.

“He has been really good for us, but at the same time he still has some things to work on,” Claude Julien said of the team’s decision to demote Spooner. “We can look at his point production; at the same time he has no goals, so he’s got to learn to start taking more goals to the net.

“He’s a great playmaker; he was a minus-1 player. We knew at times when he got stuck in our own end with his line; he was really struggling with helping out with the D, so parts of his game still [needs] work, but to me, if he keeps improving the way he has there’s a good future here for him. Love his speed, love his creativity and everything else but when you play in the NHL you need a little bit more than that. He’s going to work on that and there’s probably a good chance you're going to see him here again this year.”

As for the fact that the B’s kept Jordan Caron up rather than Spooner, there’s no comparison to be made between the two players. Caron, who would need to clear waivers in order to be sent down, is on the team in the role of the 13th forward, meaning his job is to stay ready in case a forward gets injured, and in case one does, he has to play without being a liability.

Though he hasn’t provided them with any offense (one goal and no assists in 22 games), Caron is an above-average defensive player who doesn’t make mistakes in his own end and can be used on the penalty kill. It makes more sense to keep him as the 13th forward and put him in the lineup without risking much rather than stunting Spooner’s development while waiting for a center to suffer an injury.

Assuming he isn’t moved for a big name prior to the trade deadline, Ryan Spooner has a bright future ahead of him in Boston. There were enough flashes early on during his 20 games in his most recent callup to show that, but if he can become a better player in Providence while the Bruins ice a better roster in Boston without him, it’s a no-brainer.

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